258 



plumes for ladies hats;"* or, as he might hare added, I fear, of 

 some of our Fame Islaud excursionists, with no object at all in 

 view except the thoughtless gratification of an innate cruelty of 

 disposition.! How strangely incongruous is this taking of inno- 

 cent life to the genius loci of the Fames, the undying memory of 

 the heroic Grace Darling ! 



"The maiden gentle, yet at duty's call 

 Firm and unflinching as the lighthouse rear'd 

 On the island rock, her lonely dwelling place, 

 Or, like the invincible rock itself, that braves 

 Age after age the hostile elements, 

 As when it guarded holy Cuthbert's cell. 



Turning to another subject, we are all old enough to remem- 

 ber when the central portion of the great continent of Africa 

 was a blank; an " unknown region" was all that met the eye. 

 In earlier maps small pictures of elephants were dotted about, 

 instead of physical features or inhabited settlements, which gave 

 rise to the famous epigram concerning Africa, 

 " Geographers on pathless downs 

 Placed Elephants instead of towns." 

 Within our own time this has all been changed. The recent 

 arrival of Lieutenant Cameron in this country recalls to mind his 

 adventurous walk across the continent, partly in the steps of the 

 great and good Dr. Livingstone, but afterwards on ground pro- 

 bably untrodden before by foot of European. An important 

 contribution to geographical knowledge has been made in his 

 discovery of an effluent > hitherto unknown, from the south-west 



* See Chambers' Journal, January, 1875. 



t Since this address was read, petitions have been presented from the inhabitants of 

 Alnwick and other towns to Parliament for the better preservation of Wild Fowl ; and 

 in the past session an Act has become law wliich will go far, it is hoped, to remedy the 

 abuses referred to. It recites that the wild fowl of the United Kingdom, forming a staple 

 article of food and commerce, have of late years greatly decreased in nnmber, by reason 

 of their being inconsiderately slaughtered during the time they have eggs and young, and 

 the protection afforded by the previous Act, 36 Victoria, owing to their marketable value, 

 is not sufficient It is therefore enacted that "wild fowl" — a list is given — shall not be 

 taken between the 15th of February and the 10th of July, with penalties for infringing 

 the law. The Home Office may vary the period. One half of this penalty is to be given 

 to the informer, and the other half to the poor of the parish. Provision is made for the 

 trial of offences committed within the Admiralty jurisdiction or on boundary waters. 



